By: Problyn John Alpha
The senior District Health Officer attached to the District Health Management Team in KONO (DHMT) Aiah Michael Yomba has told this medium that the ingestion of sodium hydroxide ( caustic soda) by children from zero to thirty six months is on the increase in KONO District.
He said this when updating A-Z on the statistics of children affected with sodium hydroxide from 2020 to date. Explaining the meaning of the above named substance, the District Health Education officer ministry of Health and Sanitation KONO District noted that sodium hydroxide is a white critical iron compound physically seen by sight and rough by sense of feeling and slippery when contacted with water.
He added that the substance one of the most used sah chemicals by traders to do some basic trade through the application of palm oil in order to neutralise it harshness.
Giving the statistics of children affected by sodium hydroxide from 2020 to date, Aiah Michael Yomba maintained that in 2020 they recorded at least nine cases seventeen in 2021,eleven in 2022 and nineteen from January to June 2023 with the exception of the four recently recorded cases in August at the time of speaking to our correspondent thereby amounting it to the total of fifty six from 2020 to 2023 .
Asked to know the cause of ingestion of sodium hydroxide? The Health Education officer attached to the District Health Management Team KONO pointed out that the substance is mostly stored alongside sugar, garri,and Salt by most parents which can easily be accessed by children as a result most of these parents do mix the said chemical where these children are, which makes it easier for the children to get in contact with the chemical or substance. Explaining about the health implications of ingestion of sodium hydroxide Mr. Yomba noted that when children get in contact with the substance it damages their hands and lips which he said are the first contact places and will later deprive them of food.
He said when the substance gets into the oral cavity and passes through the air pipe it causes difficult swallowing and some internal vital organs in the stomach get damaged whilst according to him will attract emergency operation to save the lives of victims.
Economic and social discrimination are other implications he spoke about. When asked to know about the intervention of his ministry to mitigating the ingestion of sodium hydroxide? Uncle Mic as he’s fondly called intimated that on every 5th of every month they have in charges meeting where they engage them on the implications of the ingestion of the aforementioned chemical and the in charges in turn disseminate the engagement message to the community people through the meeting they usually have with pregnant women and lactating mothers noting the ministry has also formed a network of community health workers to quickly reach the parents of the victims and refer them to the various PHUs.
He said at the PHUs they have a community structure called ” FACILITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE “which works in consonant with the incharges at different PHUs in the District to speed up with the referral of victims to get contact with ambulances or to use other alternative for the affected children to be referred to the koidu Government hospital for further medication. He encouraged parents to be very careful about the safety of their children whenever working with such chemical or substance.